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From the obscure to the obscurest to the merely overlooked or underappreciated; they all have a home in the TiVoPlex! All times Pacific.

Tuesday 05/12/09

7:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
And Now Miguel (1966 USA): Sometimes it seems like the TiVoPlex is more of a TCMPlex or a Sundanceplex. This is one of those weeks when the offerings on HBO, Cinemax, Starz and co. are particularly skimpy, so please accept my apologies for the lack of diversity! And speaking of diversity, TCM continues its Latino Images in Film series with this heart-warming drama about a young lad trying to make a go of it herding sheep in New Mexico. Pat Cardi, later the lead in the infamous 1974 splatterflick Horror High (aka Twisted Brain), plays young Miguel Chavez, who longs to give ewes and rams the high-quality shearing they deserve. His dream comes true when he's finally invited to join the men-folk on a sheep wrangling trip--but at the expense of his elder brother Blas, who's off to join the Army. Based on a Newbery Medal winning novel by Joseph Krumgold (who directed his own film version in 1953), And Now Miguel features a fine supporting cast, including Clu Gulager, Guy Stockwell, and Michael Ansara. Fans of obscure '60s pop music will be intrigued by the presence of would-be child star Peter Robbins as chum Pedro: Robbins cut several 45s during the mid-'60s, including a remarkable single, Little Brown Mouse, produced by Texas rocker Lindy Blaskey.

7:35 PM Sundance
The World According to Monsanto (2008 FRA): This just in: big multi-national corporations are not good for animals, children, or other living things. Today's case in point: Monsanto, the world's leading exponent of agricultural biotechnology and genetically engineered seed, otherwise known as Frankenfood. What, no Booberry? This documentary adopts the take no prisoners approach to Monsanto, ripping the company for everything from PCBs and Dioxin to the awful Bovine Growth Hormone, which promotes unfeasibly large udders (in cows) and clinical mastitis (in humans, or perhaps it's the other way around). You'll never look at your milk--or your corn, or your beef, or just about anything else you put into your body--quite the same way again. Also airs 5/13 at 12:40 AM.

10:45 PM Turner Classic Movies
Salt of the Earth (1954 USA): In perfect contrast to And Now Miguel (and in perfect consonance with The World Acccording to Monsanto!), Salt of the Earth returns to TCM tonight. One of the greatest of all American films, this grueling drama was made by blacklisted Herbert J. Biberman during his exile from Hollywood. Filmed in New Mexico and funded by the contributions of the Hollywood Ten and others, this rare example of American neo-realism deals with a strike in the zinc mines of the Southwestern United States. The film is beautiful to look at, righteous in its indignation, and utterly unique. Soft-hearted leftie Will Geer is the only recognizable name in the cast, essaying one of his antithetical villain roles, but the star of the film is Rosaura Revueltas, a Mexican film star hounded out of her own country during another anti-Communist witch-hunt. Revueltas' performance is stunning. Salt of the Earth changed the way people looked at cinema and paved the way for a new era of political consciousness on film. Don't miss it!

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